injured student had severed spine

this is link of student who fall on double track. the shock pump in his backpack caused severed his spine. it was simple bike trip ended up in major accident
I upload image of his back. The moral of story is that one fall can end up in life ending incident. the pump crush his spine during the fall. His phone was also crushed too.

He is paralyzed.

Pack Wisely to Save Your Spine | BicyclingOn October 6, 2013, BMX legend Eddy King stuffed his hydration pack with water, tubes, tools, phone, shock pump, and everything he’d need for a day of dialing in his mountain bike on some downhill runs at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, California. On his third and fastest run down the mountain things went horribly wrong. He caught the lip on a tabletop and sailed over his bars, landing flat on his back and injuring his spinal cord at the thoracic vertebrae T11 and T12, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. This week, he posted photos of what he believes to be the crippling culprit in the crash: The handle of his shock pump.
“When you look at the photos, you can see what was the knob of the shock pump, which is bent from the force of my crash, in the location where my spinal cord injury took place,” says King. “I fully believe that if I had just had the water bladder there I would just have had the wind knocked out of me and walked away.”

King, who now uses a wheelchair half the time and arm crutches “as much as possible” has spent the 18 months since his accident mulling over how to use his experience for greater good. He decided sharing these details via social media could help others avoid a similar fate.( Photograph by Eddy King )King demonstrates how his shock pump may have caused his injury. He's shared this image on social media to advocate safer gear storage.

“I’m willing to take the bullet for my fellow mountain bikers. I just want them to learn from this. Don’t ever place anything in your pack that could jeopardize you in the event of a crash,” says King. “Yes, it’s a freak accident, but we mountain bikers crash. It’s part of the sport. You have to be smart and be prepared for it so you can walk away.”
Emergency medicine doctor and mountain bike racer Scott Benson, MD, of Morgantown, West Virginia, who sustained a T11/T12 fracture (though no spinal cord injury) while mountain biking at Big Bear, West Virginia three years ago, agrees wholeheartedly. Benson also cautions riders to be vigilant about how they pack their jersey pockets—the source of his own injury.
“I had a water bottle in the center pocket of my jersey and was flying down a double track when I hit a rock outcropping and went over my bars, landing square on my back,” Benson recalls. “That bottle is a hard thing to impact your spine. I ended up lucky that those fractures weren’t worse. But since I’ve been very cognizant of what I put in my pack and my jersey.” RELATED: Camelbak’s Got Your Back
Benson’s advice: Only soft items should go close to your spine. A water pack can actually act as a buffer from impact and protect your vertebrae, but you need to pack it wisely. The bladder should be the only thing against your body. Stow harder items in the outer pockets or strapped to the periphery of the pack. On your jersey, tubes, vest, arm warmers, fig bars, gels and other soft goods are fine for the center pocket. Tools, phone, bottles and other hard gear should be stashed to the side.
“King had a terrible life altering experience. It may have been a freak accident, but going over the bars on your mountain bike isn’t that uncommon. You can avoid some terrible consequences by simply manipulating where you stash your gear,” says Benson. “Always pack responsibly.”

Sad story, on the flip side. I've had my Camelbak save me from bad injury from landing on my back. He said he had the shock pump loaded in his pack with the bladder on top of it. Placing the pump directly against his back. Had he packed the pack with the bladder against his back and everything else on the outside of it. The bladder would have acted as a cushion from any foreign tool packed in the pack. That's how I've always packed my pack. The bladder is always touching my back and everything else is packed on the outside. It's common sense really. Nice of him to warn others to use what God has given you.

Originally Posted by mileslong

I passionately remove rocks and corners and other stuff I find too hard to ride.

I too have had my pack save me (never have stuffed it full or small junk or ever carried large items like a shock pump). Ended up doing a forward 270 flip on big descent and landed on my pack which provided enough cushion that other than getting the wind knocked out of me, I remained in one piece.

A good number of my warm weather rides are with no pack and a few items in jersey pockets: food on one side and phone on the other (nothing in the middle).

Then you leave the pack at home, hit a rock and crack your skull open and die. Or catch a grate in the parking lot, face plant and are a vegetable. Or your keys in your pocket puncture your lung. Or a dog runs out on the trail and bites your jugular. Or you get struck by lightning.

Cant we just call it a freak accident? Maybe his pump took some of the hit and saved him from a worse injury.

If you go balls out big, you might die. Its an inherent risk in very aggressive riding. Park riding and DH racing is extremely high risk. I remember years ago that female pro DH racer got paralyzed at an event. Its unfortunate, but thats what you signed up for.

like others posted, my pack has saved me injury but also have water bladder against back.

had a bad crash this weekend wearing just a low sitting hip or fanny pack. my side landed on a square edged rock. i sat there 20 minutes until pain subsided enough to ride. But I thought at the time that my back could have been broken if I had landed on it instead of my side, since I wasn't wearing my hydration pack.

I would tend to think a pump with an all metal handle of that size & shape is best left out of your pack. I agree freak & terrible accident though.

Back in the day we used to carry a full size screwdriver in your jacket to tune in your foot stance snowboarding first couple days of the season. My buddy decides to hit this enormous jump at moch chicken & things didn't go so well. He busted his humerus clean through about 2.5 inches down from the socket. I got to him & he was in terrible pain. I finally get his jacket off & when he is moving his arm it's just flippin around mid bicept...pretty gross. Well through all the trauma & pain neither of us had realized the screwdriver had punctured his lung. I actually heard some odd whistling the whole time unill I saw the handle sticking out of him. Luckily ski patrol was right there at this point. He had to sleep upright for six months but made a full recovery. Professional gambler now & still kind of an idiot.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

Mountain biking like many other sports related choices is inherently fraught with dangers and elements of injury. We try and make wise decisions and act in our best interests, but shit happens and things go wrong sometimes.

I had my GoPro in my CamelBack two years ago, on a nice technical climb. I screwed up, wasn't paying attention, and fell to my left, which made me tumble off the trail. Off trail to the right, was rocks and a steep uphill.
Off the left, was small trees and a roughly 40* drop. I "fell" about 5', which ended up having me land on my back. The GoPro smacked me right along the spine, and I was stuck with pain for a minute or two. I knew there was no major injury, but I was unable to move due to the pain for that minute or so.
Sore and bruised for a few days after that. Since then, no more GoPro in the pack.

Back when CamelBaks had a full length water pouch, I don't know if it mattered. However, with the water pouch now often being low (lumbar area) there is no cushioning.

I've had my pack save my back on more than one occasion, it's one reason I don't like riding on a mtb without one, I treat it as a back protector. I'm not a fan of the endurbro look that is trendy these days.

I've also crushed T-12 as he did, he also crushed T-11, without any lasting injury, it all depends on where those bone fragments go...... I was a mm or two luckier than he was.

TBH I sort of consider not having anything like that against my back obvious, but good post nonetheless as to some it's less obvious. I don't have back protection, however I wear a camelbak with full length bladder and the only hard objects (mini-pump, multi-tool) have no protruding parts (that pump handle looks brutal) and sit off to one side.

Yes there's still a risk (there always is), but basic steps to minimise it all add up.

Sad story, on the flip side. I've had my Camelbak save me from bad injury from landing on my back. He said he had the shock pump loaded in his pack with the bladder on top of it. Placing the pump directly against his back. Had he packed the pack with the bladder against his back and everything else on the outside of it. The bladder would have acted as a cushion from any foreign tool packed in the pack. That's how I've always packed my pack. The bladder is always touching my back and everything else is packed on the outside. It's common sense really. Nice of him to warn others to use what God has given you.

All the CamelBaks I have owned have a pocket for the bladder that keeps them between the storage and the back.

I have landed on my pack dozens of times and it always cushions my fall. I won't ride without a pack now, it is an extra layer of protection back there.

I know several guys who have been saved some serious pain/injury when they landed on their pack, I myself was spared some good pain/injury when I was thrown back first into some trees and my pack took the brunt of the blow.

Sorry to say, but I agree, it would take someone very "special" to pack all the tools against their back and then put the bladder in front, instead of bladder against your back and tools etc to the front, to help absorb any impact

Originally Posted by DIRTJUNKIE

Sad story, on the flip side. I've had my Camelbak save me from bad injury from landing on my back. He said he had the shock pump loaded in his pack with the bladder on top of it. Placing the pump directly against his back. Had he packed the pack with the bladder against his back and everything else on the outside of it. The bladder would have acted as a cushion from any foreign tool packed in the pack. That's how I've always packed my pack. The bladder is always touching my back and everything else is packed on the outside. It's common sense really. Nice of him to warn others to use what God has given you.

One day your life will flash before your eyes, will it be worth watching??

Sorry to say, but I agree, it would take someone very "special" to pack all the tools against their back and then put the bladder in front, instead of bladder against your back and tools etc to the front, to help absorb any impact

Not everyone thinks of these things and if posts like this help save one rider from injury then it's well worth it. I know I'll be discussing the issue with the guys I ride with.

This is part of the reason why I stopped wearing a pack. It always made me nervous stuffing too much stuff in it and what would happen on a crash on my back.

Yeah, but without a pack you can also land on a rock and do the same thing. There are no "easy" solutions. If you crash you could get hurt depending on how you land and what you land on. Too many variables to control to worry about Common sense is best, but even then can plan for everything.

I nearly always start rides with full bladder, but that does not mean I finish them with a full bladder.

As for packing. For reason of weight distibution you want to keep the water right on your back. When full it is the most weight and you want that close to you rather than flopping around. When the water is drained... Yeah things change. There is no perfect

You trying to say you have never gone OTB and hit your back at some point during the crash?

Oh I've been otb plenty of times and rolled a bunch of them but can't recall ever once taking anything close to a hard hit on the back, just dumb luck I guess. These days I'm averaging maybe 1 otb a year and that's about 1 too many.

I just misunderstood because when when someone says they landed on their back I'm thinking that's what made first contact.

Oh I've been otb plenty of times and rolled a bunch of them but can't recall ever once taking anything close to a hard hit on the back, just dumb luck I guess. These days I'm averaging maybe 1 otb a year and that's about 1 too many.

I just misunderstood because when when someone says they landed on their back I'm thinking that's what made first contact.

Damn shame about the op.

when you are rolling, your back hits the ground at some point along the way, the bladder protects the back from rocks n such during those times the back is making contact with the ground.

But I did land flat on my back when I crashed hard a month ago. Right smack between 2 rocks..... I never felt so fortunate after a crash before.

I went over the bars about a month ago, hit me head on a rock and landed on my back. I don't remember feeling any impact or pain from the contents of my pack. In fact I was almost completely unhurt. You can't generalise about these things. Whether or not you get hurt is going to depend on exactly how you land and exactly what on.

Sad story, on the flip side. I've had my Camelbak save me from bad injury from landing on my back. He said he had the shock pump loaded in his pack with the bladder on top of it. Placing the pump directly against his back. Had he packed the pack with the bladder against his back and everything else on the outside of it. The bladder would have acted as a cushion from any foreign tool packed in the pack. That's how I've always packed my pack. The bladder is always touching my back and everything else is packed on the outside. It's common sense really. Nice of him to warn others to use what God has given you.

Originally Posted by Klurejr

All the CamelBaks I have owned have a pocket for the bladder that keeps them between the storage and the back.

I have landed on my pack dozens of times and it always cushions my fall. I won't ride without a pack now, it is an extra layer of protection back there.

Which is what I said. How or what kind of pack was this guy using where he could pack tools to the inside of the bladder?

Originally Posted by LyNx

I know several guys who have been saved some serious pain/injury when they landed on their pack, I myself was spared some good pain/injury when I was thrown back first into some trees and my pack took the brunt of the blow.

Sorry to say, but I agree, it would take someone very "special" to pack all the tools against their back and then put the bladder in front, instead of bladder against your back and tools etc to the front, to help absorb any impact

Unfortunately common sense is rapidly declining in our society.

Originally Posted by mileslong

I passionately remove rocks and corners and other stuff I find too hard to ride.

Curious for a 3rd opinion.
If you fell with tools in a backpack with no bladder it's gonna hurt. The bladder will conform/cushion to whatever is the path of least resistance as that's the nature of liquid.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

EDIT* - I'm a gonna edit that & say it makes no difference until the bladder is 4/5 full to full. However, fullness would be a factor overall.

I'm going to agree with you on that. However the tools being to the inside of the bladder, close to the back, compared to being on the outside of the bladder, away from the back and the back being cushioned by the bladder, outside wins every time. Filled or 1/2 full.

Originally Posted by mileslong

I passionately remove rocks and corners and other stuff I find too hard to ride.

Curious for a 3rd opinion.
If you fell with tools in a backpack with no bladder it's gonna hurt. The bladder will conform/cushion to whatever is the path of least resistance as that's the nature of liquid.

I propose you perform a scientific study on the subject. Pack some tools between you back and the bladder and fall on your back. Then do it with the tools between the water cushion and the ground and see how it feels. Please write down the results and get back to us.

I propose you perform a scientific study on the subject. Pack some tools between you back and the bladder and fall on your back. Then do it with the tools between the water cushion and the ground and see how it feels. Please write down the results and get back to us.

Already done a lifetimef of feild research.

Statement- plenty of members of a certain age have fallen on backpacks of god knows what starting with bmx before mountain bikes or bladders.

Hypothesis- 1 a bladder full of water absolutely slows momentum.
-2 bone is pretty durable shit. Certainly more durable than bladder material & water

Conclusion- I love beer.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

I know it adds weight to the back of the bike, but I have racks on both my bikes now. 15" gym duffle bag with everything I need including tools (tools in plastic box). Without the water bottle in it, probably adds 5-6 lbs. After reading this I guess it's a lot safer than a backpack.

What kind of pack did he have? We run the gauntlet of packs from, small bladder holding packs to different size biking packs to day packs to full on 70L backpacks. Through all the different brands (Camelback, Vaude, Osprey, Deuter) we have, they are all designed for the bladder to sit next to the back. Usually you want your heaviest items closest to your back and lower down for better balance, which usually includes water. Sucks that he packed his pack the way he did.

I've had my pack save me twice. Once in the 90s with the original camelback where my bar ends (yes that long ago) caught a tree, bike turned 90 degrees and I was launched a good few feet sideways. Walked away from that, after bouncing along the ground.

The second time was probably about 7-8 years ago when I was trying to climb up a rocky and ledgy section, and I couldn't get out of my clipless pedals and pitched forward down 10 feet into a dried up creek bed. I remember when I landed, I was sitting up. I think my camelback pitched me forward when I rolled. That pack and my current one have a plastic frame in them to keep the bladder and presumably the other tools off my back--get that's what took the impact too.

Riding smaller frames, none of them have a place for the water bottle, so I carry that in my pack, but I'm looking at moving more to my frame than my pack.

My shock pump is behind the bladder--but I think I don't need that for rides anymore.

That is extremely unfortunate and can't imagine how devastating this is for the injured person. Sounds like he has a good head on though so hats off to him.

One of my worst injuries that still bothers me 10 years later was from my multitool sitting in the middle pocket of my pack. I landed in the soft dirt with no rocks or hard ground near by (first big jump on Braille Trail) and suffered badly for about 3 months thinking it would be getting better. It did not hurt enough to go to the Docs, but hurt enough in bed, on rides and then when lifting anything heavy forever. I know, it's my bad for not getting it checked out but it is never completely healed to this day.

I don't remember if I had water in the bladder, but physics says that a bladder is pretty ineffective for small area objects unless it is completely full and unable to expand when the object tries to displace the water. The basic test if if you can push your finger from one side to the other of a fullish bag sitting on a table, you will see it does not help much at all. Anyway, I think the pack alone offers some protection but a hard shell somewhere in the stack is key.

The one thing for sure is sharp hard objects and crashes do not mix. That goes for bike bits as well. It is worth making sure the bar plugs are in, and not packing hard things in the pack are smart things to do. My multitool lives in a dorky seat bag and I never bring a shock pump.

It is possible that his bladder was low and did not afford any protection. If the bladder is low/empty, it says he was on his last run, then it doesn't matter if the bladder was between his back and the pump.

That pump just as easily could have been a rock, a tree branch, another bike, his own bike, any number of things.

While it is good info, and gives something to think about, I'm not blaming the pump, nor blaming his decision. The only fault here is that he liked riding his bike, and on that day it didn't work out for him. That may happen to me one day too.

On my XC bike I keep my multitool and CO2 in my jersey pocket. On my trail bike I have my tools and CO2 strapped near the bottom bracket, and a frame mounted pump. Pre dropper I lost two saddle bags in only a couple of months from fatigue, I think I just ride too hard for them (saddle bags on my roadie though), and lost a tube strapped to the seat rail. I strap a tube to the top tube of the bike. Since I am looking at a Spec, I should be able to take advantage of the SWAT system for tool storage. I don't like to carry packs unless I am going pretty extreme endurance without being able to find water, and that is rare.

I really feel for the guy, being an active guy then becoming immobilized is awful. However there's no part of my brain that can comprehend anyone placing a piece of metal by their spine and getting on a bicycle. To me that's borderline insanity.

I really feel for the guy, being an active guy then becoming immobilized is awful. However there's no part of my brain that can comprehend anyone placing a piece of metal by their spine and getting on a bicycle. To me that's borderline insanity.

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Hence my first post in this thread. It's sad what happened but common sense would tell one. . .

Originally Posted by mileslong

I passionately remove rocks and corners and other stuff I find too hard to ride.

..It is possible that his bladder was low and did not afford any protection. If the bladder is low/empty, it says he was on his last run, then it doesn't matter if the bladder was between his back and the pump...

I think it is just "That wouldn't happen to me" syndrome. People want to think of any way what they do is better, so the risk for them is small. It's the complete opposite of playing the lottery. The odds of winning are ridiculously small, but people throw away thousands thinking they are different.

Seriously people, this can be you. It CAN happen to you. You can reduce the odds, but it can still happen. If you don't want it to happen to you, stay at home and watch TV. Rot away drinking beer on the couch. Or, roll the dice, play the odds, and enjoy what few moments you have.

I look at the fat, bitter old people I work with. Guys who show up to their union job like clockwork, go home, pretend they love their lives, then come back and do it again. Nothing different, nothing special. We live special lives. We live the dream.

I think it is just "That wouldn't happen to me" syndrome. People want to think of any way what they do is better, so the risk for them is small. It's the complete opposite of playing the lottery. The odds of winning are ridiculously small, but people throw away thousands thinking they are different.

Seriously people, this can be you. It CAN happen to you. You can reduce the odds, but it can still happen. If you don't want it to happen to you, stay at home and watch TV. Rot away drinking beer on the couch. Or, roll the dice, play the odds, and enjoy what few moments you have.

I look at the fat, bitter old people I work with. Guys who show up to their union job like clockwork, go home, pretend they love their lives, then come back and do it again. Nothing different, nothing special. We live special lives. We live the dream.

Sometimes dreams are nightmares.

Thanks for pep talk captain happypants.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

alot of trails have big rock gardens, large roots, stunts. The trails are no longer smooth XC pack dirt trails.
People should wear more protection for hips, leg, elbows and back too. It is very easy to slip on a big rock and fall on another rock to cut open a leg or face.
I often see people careless in riding very difficult trail. they only wear BMX helmet and no other protection. BMX helmet doesn't have same protection as full face helmet

I have a whole bunch of metal stuff in my pack. Tools, tire and shock pump...I mean, isn't that the purpose of wearing a pack in the first place. I usually have a couple bottles of beer (or bottles of air, depending on what point in the ride we're talking about) in there too. I'm INSANE!!!!

So has anyone thought of making their pack safer, as in back protection, by say adding something like D3O to it? I have a sixsixone long sleeve compression jacket that I use for DH (no pack) and it has a fairly large piece of D3O as spine protection. It takes two seconds to remove it and would fit in my Camalback Luxe well. Would that make my pack safer? Would it act like a back protector? Just wondering. I don't carry a ton of stuff in my pack but there are a few hard metal items in it though.

I have the Kudu 8 Camelback with built in back protection. Feels like carrying an anchor, during the summer anyways.
I've only had it for 2 months and just removed the back protection but intend to add it back in during winter months and at the bike park next month.